Page 29 - Roadmap

7.1. Energy

Energy science is massively interdisciplinary. The main task of energy scientists is to collaborate with energy technicians
to supply the national economy, or, from a local perspective, the localities and households with secure, economical and
environmentally friendly energy and, to this end, to research and develop sustainable energy production, transformation
and storage systems. They are also responsible for the scientific examination of the stability, the sustainability and the en-
vironmental and social impacts of energy systems, and for assisting the work of policy-makers.

Scientific fields and subfields relating to energy science require multidisciplinary competences. As individual researchers seldom
have all the necessary knowledge and skills, teamwork and the use of multiple research infrastructures are essential for success.

If the development of an energy transformation, saving or storage system calls for new materials or processes, scientists
perform basic research. For the characterisation of the materials and the better understanding of the processes, however,
scientists will need applied research, primarily analytics. Large and complex RIs are mostly used for such analytical research.
Both research and the examination of compatibility with the energy system rely on data from several databases: for the
former, databases include data on the properties of materials and of finished products, while for the latter, they include
data on users, typical forms of use, environmental conditions, distribution and characteristics of renewable energy poten-
tials, production and distribution routes.

Due to its size and population, Hungary has only relatively few energy research infrastructures. One of the most significant
domestic RIs focuses on nuclear energy (fission and fusion). There is high demand for RIs in the transformation of materials
resulting from bioenergy research through catalytic and electrochemical processes, in laying the foundations of hydrogen
economy and in experimental research on fuel cells and electrical energy storage. Further important fields of research in-
clude photo-and electro-chemical research, solar cell research, research on the cultivation and use of energy crops and
trees, research on woody energy crops, research on traditional and bio-hydrocarbons, as well as geothermal and nuclear
energy research. Academic institutes and the largest universities contribute to all these fields.

The examination of the entire life cycle, and the economic, environmental and social impacts of energy systems, and gov-
ernment-level decisions heavily rely on data from databases which are currently rather incomplete. This is why database-
type research infrastructures need to be set up and continuously maintained. The capacities enabling research on energy
storage facilities, especially battery research and the production of raw chemicals using renewable energy, should also be
improved. This also calls for the conscious training of competent workforce.

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